EPA Issues Health Advisories For Two Contaminants Found In Drinking Water

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently issues established health advisories for two contaminants found in drinking water in order to provide water system operators, or those who have oversight of water systems, with the information on the health risks of these chemicals so they can take any appropriate actions or correction to protect their residents and customers.

Perfluorooctanic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooactane sulfonate (PFOS) are fluorinated organic chemicals and part of a larger group of chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). PFOA and PFOS have been used to make carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, paper packaging for food and other items that are resistant to water, grease and stains (e.g., cookware). They have also been used in various industrial processes and in firefighting at airfields.

Between 2000 and 2002, PFOS was voluntarily phased out of production by its primary U.S. manufacturers. Eight major companies voluntarily agreed in 2006 to phase out their global production of PFOA and PFOA-related chemicals. However, there remains a limited number of on-going uses. For most people, consumer products and food have been a large source of exposure to these chemicals, drinking water can be another source for exposure in the small number of communities where these chemicals have contaminated water supplies. At greatest risk would be those communities where these chemicals were produced, were used in the manufacture of other products, or near or at an airfield where the chemical was used for firefighting.

In order to provide individuals, including the most sensitive populations, with a margin of protection from a lifetime of exposure from drinking water to PFOA and PFOS, the EPA has established the health advisory levels of 70 parts per trillion. The EPA’s health advisories are based on the best available peer-reviewed studies of the chemicals. In the case of PFOA and PFOS the most sensitive populations include fetuses during pregnancy and breastfed infants. For breastfed infants their lactating mothers drink more water than other people and can pass these chemicals along to their nursing infants through breastmilk.

Possible adverse health effects to fetus during pregnancy or to breastfed infants include: low birth weight, accelerated puberty, skeletal variations; cancer (e.g., testicular, kidney); liver effects (e.g., tissue damage); immune effects (e.g., antibody protection and immunity); thyroid effects and other effects (e.g., cholesterol changes).

In 2009, the EPA published provisional health advisories for PFOA and PFOS based on the evidence available at the time. The science has evolved over the ensuing years and the EPA is now replacing the 2009 provisional advisories with the new, lifetime health advisories. The EPA’s health advisories are non-enforceable and non-regulatory. They are issued to provide technical information to state agencies and other public health officials on health effects, analytical methodologies and treatment technologies associated with drinking water contamination.